ThinNeedle

Xhosa

2005-04-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

In the late 18th and the 19th centuries, a series of conflicts popularly called

Shih Ta-k'ai

2005-04-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

Pinyin Shi Dakai one of the leaders of the Taiping Rebellion, the widespread uprising that gripped South China between 1850 and 1864. The most literate of the Taipings, Shih was an avowed enemy of the alien Ch'ing (Manchu) rulers of China. In the early part of the 20th century, he came to be revered as a hero of the Chinese nationalist

Quidor, John

2005-04-01T22:16:00.000-08:00

At age nine Quidor moved with his family to New York City. He began his career

Lenin, Order Of

2005-03-30T11:46:00.000-08:00

Highest civilian award of the U.S.S.R. It was established in 1930 by the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union and awarded to individuals, collectives, institutions, or organizations for outstanding achievements in research, art, technology, or economics or for the solution of tasks vital to the state. The order had one class. It was awarded automatically to “Heroes

U.s. News & World Report

2005-03-27T18:22:00.000-08:00

Weekly news magazine published in Washington, D.C., one of the most influential of its kind and the first to successfully imitate the general format pioneered by Time. It was established in 1933 by David Lawrence as U.S. News and won general note for its thorough coverage of major news events in Washington, D.C., and the United States, often carrying the complete text of major

Performing Arts, Asia.

2005-03-26T16:02:00.000-08:00

The most attractive films to emerge from Japan were Kohei Oguri's Sleeping Man, which portrayed relationships in a village where people still feel close to older traditions governing the approach to nature, life, and death, and Higashi Yoichi's Village of Dreams, a magical evocation of the world of childhood. Adapted from the nostalgic memoirs of the artist Tashima

Biblical Literature, The number of books

2005-03-23T14:13:00.000-08:00

The number of books in the Hebrew canon is thus 24, referring to the sum of the separate scrolls on which these works were traditionally written in ancient times. This figure is first cited in II Esdras in a passage usually dated c. 100 CE and is frequently mentioned in rabbinic (postbiblical) literature, but no authentic tradition exists to explain it. Josephus, a 1st century CE Jewish

Aron, Raymond (-claude-ferdinand)

2005-03-21T06:54:00.000-08:00

The son of a Jewish jurist, Aron obtained his doctorate in 1930 from the École Normale Supérieure with a thesis on the philosophy of history. He was a professor of social philosophy at the University of Toulouse when World War II

Li Dazhao

2005-03-20T02:33:00.000-08:00

After studying at Tientsin and at Waseda University in Tokyo, Li became an editor for Hsin ch'ing-nien (“New Youth”), the principal journal of the new Western-oriented literary and cultural movements. In 1918 he was appointed chief librarian of Peking University, and

Xaignabouri, Muang

2005-03-18T08:58:00.000-08:00

The uplands of the area in which Xaignabouri is situated are sparsely occupied by Miao (Meo, or Hmong) and Khmu peoples,

Azalea

2005-03-17T22:08:00.000-08:00

Any of a certain species of Rhododendron, of the family Ericaceae, formerly given the generic name Azalea. Neither the shape of the corolla (ring of petals) nor other characteristics are sufficiently constant to serve as a means of separating these plants into two distinct genera, although azaleas are typically deciduous while rhododendrons are evergreen.

Dance, George, The Younger

2005-03-16T21:12:00.000-08:00

The youngest son of George Dance the Elder, who was clerk of works to the City of London from 1735 to 1768, the younger Dance received his formal training in the office of his father and during several years

Welland Canal

2005-03-15T23:05:00.000-08:00

Waterway in southern Ontario, Can., that provides navigation for large vessels between Lake Erie to the south and Lake Ontario to the north and forms an important link in the St. Lawrence Seaway. The canal was necessary because the Niagara River, the natural connection between Lakes Erie and Ontario, has impassable falls and rapids. The modern Welland Canal extends

Lentulus, Publius Cornelius

2005-03-15T02:07:00.000-08:00

In 81 Lentulus was quaestor to Lucius Cornelius Sulla. When Sulla later accused him of having squandered public funds, Lentulus scornfully held out the calf of his leg, a gesture normally used by ball-playing boys inviting punishment for an error. He was praetor in 74 and consul

Kabuki

2005-03-14T10:29:00.000-08:00

Traditional Japanese popular drama with singing and dancing performed in a highly stylized manner. A rich blend of music, dance, mime, and spectacular staging and costuming, it has been the chief theatrical form in Japan for almost four centuries. The term kabuki originally suggested the unorthodox and shocking character of this art form. In modern Japanese, the

Tjurunga

2005-03-12T00:35:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Churinga, in Australian Aboriginal religion, a mythical being and a ritual object, usually made of wood or stone, that is a representation or manifestation of such a being. An Aranda word, tjurunga traditionally referred to sacred or secret–sacred things set apart, or taboo; for example, certain rites, stone, and wooden slab objects, bull-roarers, ground paintings and earth mounds,

Owendo

2005-03-11T20:11:00.000-08:00

Deepwater port, northwestern Gabon, on the north shore of the Gabon Estuary; it serves the national capital, Libreville (9 miles [15 km] north-northwest), and was designed to handle ore vessels. It has a seaplane base and road connections with Libreville, Cocobeach, Médouneu, and Kango. In 1978 the first 115-mile (185-kilometre) segment of the Trans-Gabon Railway was opened, linking Owendo

Qarmatian

2005-03-11T06:41:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Qarmathian, Karmatian , or Karmathian , Arabic Qarmati , plural Qaramitah a member of the Shi'ite Muslim sect known as the Isma'ilites. The Qarmatians flourished in Iraq, Yemen, and especially Bahrain during the 9th to 11th centuries, taking their name from Hamdan Qarmat, who led the sect in southern Iraq in the second half of the 9th century. The Qarmatians became notorious for an insurrection in Syria and Iraq in 903–906 and for the exploits of two Bahraini leaders,

Nadelman, Elie

2005-03-09T18:50:00.000-08:00

Lincoln Kirstin, The Sculpture of Elie Nadelman (1948), and Elie Nadelman (1973); John I.H. Baur, The Sculpture and Drawings of Elie Nadelman (1975).

Stingray

2005-03-09T00:42:00.000-08:00

The dasyatid

Drâa, Oued

2005-03-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Oued Dra, intermittent stream (wadi) of southern Morocco. Rising from two headstreams, Dadès and Imini, in the Haut (High) Atlas mountains of central Morocco, it flows southeastward to Tagounit, hence it courses southwestward, forming much of the Algerian–Moroccan frontier, to the Atlantic near Cap Drâa. Of its total length of 700 mi (1,100 km), the longest of any Moroccan river, all but the headstreams

Thompson, J(ohn) Lee

2005-03-06T22:32:00.000-08:00

British-born film director (b. Aug. 1, 1914, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Eng.—d. Aug. 30, 2002, Sooke, B.C.), achieved international fame with The Guns of Navarone (1961), which exemplified his acute visual style and use of suspenseful narrative. Thompson, who was sometimes billed as J. Lee-Thompson, began his film career as an actor and screenwriter, and the first movie he directed, Murder Without

Altitude Sickness

2005-03-06T15:01:00.000-08:00

The symptoms of altitude sickness fall into four main categories:

Rio Branco

2005-03-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Acre estado (“state”), western Brazil. It lies on the west bank of the Acre River, and just north where the Branco River (Rio Branco) flows into the Acre. A commercial and distribution centre, Rio Branco exports rubber, metals, medicinal plants, Brazil nuts, and timber. Petroleum and alcohol fuels are processed there. The Federal University of Acre (1971) is located

Computers, Early business machines

2005-03-03T07:48:00.000-08:00

Throughout the 19th century, business machines were coming into common use. Calculators became available as a tool of commerce in 1820 (see the earlier section Digital calculators), and in 1874 the Remington Arms Company, Inc., sold the first commercially viable typewriter. Other machines were invented for other specific business tasks. None of these machines was a computer,

Ancient Rome, Administration of Rome and Italy

2005-03-03T04:21:00.000-08:00

Ordinary Roman citizens who were neither senators nor equites were of lesser consequence. Although still used, the old formula senatus populusque Romanus (“the Senate and the Roman people”) had changed its meaning: in effect, its populusque Romanus portion now meant “the emperor.” The “Roman people” had become the “Italian people,” and it was embodied in the person of Augustus,

Steel, Vacuum treatment

2005-03-01T23:57:00.000-08:00

Exposing steel to vacuum conditions has a profound effect on all metallurgical reactions involving gases. First, it lowers the level of gases dissolved in liquid steel. Hydrogen, for example, is readily removed in a vacuum to less than two parts per million. Nitrogen is not as mobile in liquid steel as hydrogen, so that only 15 to 30 percent is typically removed during a 20-minute

Thoburn, Isabella

2005-03-01T10:45:00.000-08:00

Thoburn attended local schools and the Wheeling Female Seminary in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia). In 1866, after she had taught for several years, Thoburn was invited by her brother

Scandinavian Literature, The modern Swedish novel

2005-02-27T15:51:00.000-08:00

The development of the novel was associated with Gustaf Hellström, Ludvig Nordström, Elin Wägner, and Sigfrid Siwertz. Hellström's work as a journalist in Europe, the United States, and England greatly influenced him. Irony and careful detail emerged in his best known novel, Snörmakare Lekholm får en idé (1927; Lacemaker Lekholm Has an Idea). Siwertz was a more elegant stylist,

Durand, Guillaume

2005-02-27T03:56:00.000-08:00

After receiving a doctorate in canon law at Bologna, Italy, Durand taught briefly there and later at Modena, Italy. Some time after 1260 he was appointed auditor (a judge commissioned to hear cases of appeal brought to the Holy See). At the second Council of Lyon (1274), he helped draft the statutes

Wyre Forest

2005-02-26T18:04:00.000-08:00

Wyre

Danewirk

2005-02-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Danewerk, Dannewirk , or Dannewerk , Danish Dannevirke , or Danevirke (Danes' Bulwark) the ancient frontier rampart of the Danes against the Germans, extending 10.5 miles (17 kilometres) from just south of the town of Schleswig to the marshes of the river Trene near the village of Hollingstedt. The rampart was begun about AD 808 by Godfred (Gudfred), king of Vestfold. In 934 it was penetrated by the German king Henry I, after which it was extended by King Harald I Bluetooth

Ibn Al-ash'ath

2005-02-23T08:30:00.000-08:00

A member of the noble tribe of Kindah of the old aristocracy, Ibn al-Ash'ath was at first friendly toward the Umayyad authorities but then began to smart under the governance of the plebeian administrators. Styling himself Nasir al-mu'minim (Helper of the Believers) in opposition

Quiché

2005-02-23T03:53:00.000-08:00

Also called Quiché Maya, Mayan Indians living in the midwestern highlands of Guatemala. The Quiché Maya had an advanced civilization in pre-Columbian times, with a high level of political and social organization. Archaeological remains show large population centres and a complex class structure. Written records of Quiché history and mythology are preserved in the Popol Vuh, written

Penedo

2005-02-22T16:15:00.000-08:00

Port city, Alagoas state, northeastern Brazil, on the north bank of the lower São Francisco River, bordering Sergipe state, 25 mi (40 km) above its mouth on the Atlantic Ocean. Founded in the 16th century during the Portuguese conquest, it has developed a thriving trade in hides, rice, and cotton. There is light industrial development, including cotton spinning, weaving, vegetable-oil

Aristide, Jean-bertrand

2005-02-21T13:31:00.000-08:00

Aristide attended a school in Port-au-Prince run by the Roman Catholic Salesian order, and in 1966 he moved to the Salesian seminary at Cap-Haitien and began to prepare for the priesthood.

Jib

2005-02-20T15:40:00.000-08:00

In sailing ships, triangular sail rigged to a stay extending from the foremast, or foretopmast, to the bowsprit or to a spar, the jibboom, that is an extension of the bowsprit. The jib is first known to have been used on one-masted vessels. Its use began to spread about 1600 and extended to larger war vessels about 1700. Jibs proved handy in helping to steer and were much valued—e.g., on

Albany, John Stewart, 2nd Duke Of

2005-02-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

In 1515, at the request of the Scottish Parliament, he came to Scotland from France.

Aschelminth

2005-02-18T22:04:00.000-08:00

There is a much larger literature on the nematodes than other aschelminths because of their importance to humans. Introductory works include Neil A. Croll and Bernard E. Matthews, Biology of Nematodes (1977); Armand Maggenti, General Nematology (1981); Warwick L. Nicholas, The Biology of Free-Living Nematodes, 2nd ed. (1984); and George O. Poinar, Jr., The Natural History of Nematodes (1983). Parasitic forms are discussed in William R. Nickle (ed.), Plant and Insect Nematodes (1984); Gerald D. Schmidt and Larry S. Roberts, Foundations of Parasitology, 3rd ed. (1985); and Norman D. Levine, Nematode Parasites of Domestic Animals and Man (1980). Nematodes in biologic research are the subject of Bert M. Zuckerman (ed.), Nematodes as Biological Models, 2 vol. (1980).

Gates, Frederick T.

2005-02-17T23:21:00.000-08:00

During his college days at the University of Rochester, N.Y., Gates worked as a bank clerk. His undergraduate studies were followed by three years at the Rochester Theological

T'u-ti

2005-02-15T20:56:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Tudi (Chinese: “Place God”), type of Chinese god whose deification and functions are determined by local residents. The chief characteristic of a T'u-ti is the limitation of his jurisdiction to a single place—e.g., a bridge, a street, a temple, a public building, a private home, or a field. In the case of private homes, the T'u-ti is often identified with the god of riches. In all cases, a T'u-ti

Canning Basin

2005-02-14T08:37:00.000-08:00

Also called Desert Artesian Basin arid sedimentary basin in northwestern Western Australia. Occupying a largely unexplored area of about 150,000 square miles (400,000 square km), it extends south from the Fitzroy River to the De Grey River and from the coast southeast almost to 128° E longitude. The basin underlies the western section of the Great Sandy Desert (q.v.). Most of its interior is covered by parallel sand dunes,

Denham, Sir John

2005-02-14T06:14:00.000-08:00

Educated at the University of Oxford, Denham was admitted to the bar, but he was already actively writing. He had translated six books of the Aeneid, parts of which were later printed; but he made his reputation with The Sophy, a blank-verse

Mexico, Gulf Of, Physiography and geology

2005-02-13T11:34:00.000-08:00

The Gulf of Mexico consists of several ecological and geologic provinces, chief of which are the coastal zone, the continental shelf, the continental slope, and the abyssal plain. The coastal zone consists of tidal marshes, sandy beaches, mangrove-covered areas, and many bays, estuaries, and lagoons. The continental shelf forms an almost continuous terrace around

Bukavu

2005-02-12T00:27:00.000-08:00

Formerly (until 1966) Costermansville city, eastern Congo (Kinshasa), central Africa, on a peninsula extending into Lake Kivu. It is a commercial and industrial centre, a lake port, and a tourist city with road access northwest to Kisangani, southwest to Kasai, south to Lubumbashi and Katanga province, and to East Africa. There is also air transport to other Congolese cities and to Burundi. The region is known

And Fjord

2005-02-10T16:39:00.000-08:00

Norwegian Andfjorden fjord, in the Norwegian Sea, indenting northwestern Norway, located between the islands of And (west) and Senja (east). The fjord, which is divided between Nordland and Troms fylker (counties), penetrates into the offshore island of Hinn in the south, where it is called Gulles Fjord. Its total length is about 55 miles (90 km) from its broad opening into the Norwegian Sea at the Andenes

League Of Women Voters

2005-02-09T19:53:00.000-08:00

First proposed by Carrie Chapman Catt at a convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) in 1917, the League was organized at a national convention on March 24–29, 1919, in St. Louis, Missouri,

Kamchatka

2005-02-09T11:32:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kamcatka, oblast (province), far eastern Russia. Kamchatka oblast includes the entire Kamchatka Peninsula and the southern end of the Koryak Mountains. It includes the Koryak autonomous okrug (district). The administrative centre is Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (q.v.). The population, averaging only 2.3 persons per square mile (0.9 per square km), consists chiefly of Russian settlers. The

Xuanzang

2005-02-07T09:57:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Hsüan-tsang , original name Chen Yi , honorary epithet San-tsang , also called Muchatipo , Sanskrit Mokshadeva , or Yuanzang Buddhist monk and Chinese pilgrim to India who translated the sacred scriptures of Buddhism from Sanskrit into Chinese and founded in China the Buddhist Consciousness Only school. His fame rests mainly on the volume and diversity of his translations of the Buddhist sutras and on the record

Port Blair

2005-02-07T05:42:00.000-08:00

City and capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory, India, in the Bay of Bengal. The city lies on the hilly southeastern coast of South Andaman Island. It is a market town with a sawmill, several local museums, and an airport. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 74,810.

Topkapi Palace Museum

2005-02-05T05:41:00.000-08:00

The library contains 18,000 manuscripts, more than 23,000 archival documents, and private papers of various sultans. It also contains a selection of Islamic relics.

Anderson, John Henry

2005-02-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

Described on playbills as “Professor Anderson, the Wizard of the North,” he first performed in 1831. Seasons at Edinburgh (1837) and Glasgow (1838–39) followed. In London (1840) he made use of the most elaborate collection of magical apparatus

Saba, Umberto

2005-02-04T06:12:00.000-08:00

Saba was raised by his Jewish mother in the ghetto of Trieste after his Christian father deserted them when Saba was an infant. From age 17 Saba developed his interest in poetry while working as a clerk and a cabin boy and serving as a soldier

Grade, Chaim

2005-02-03T17:28:00.000-08:00

Yiddish poet, short-story writer, and novelist who was one of the last surviving secularized Yiddish writers to have been educated in a European yeshiva (rabbinical seminary). His fiction reflects an intimate knowledge of the complexities and breadth of that vanished culture and

Ear Disease, Acute middle-ear infection

2005-02-01T07:28:00.000-08:00

Fortunately, acute middle-ear infections, called acute otitis media, are nearly always due to microorganisms that respond quickly to antibiotics. As a result, acute infection of the mastoid air cells resulting in a dangerous mastoid abscess with the possibility of meningitis, brain abscess, septicemia, infection of the labyrinth, or facial nerve paralysis, complicating

Iron Mountain

2005-01-31T19:56:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1891) of Dickinson county, southwestern Upper Peninsula of Michigan, U.S., 52 miles (84 km) west of Escanaba. Settled in 1879 and incorporated in 1889, it was named for its proximity to a bluff heavily stratified with iron ore. In the 1930s underground mining became uneconomic, but the industry has revived with open-pit mining and the pelletizing of ore. Tourism and winter sports (based

Orléans, Louis-philippe, Duc D' (duke Of)

2005-01-30T22:45:00.000-08:00

Having served with distinction from 1742 to 1757, he lived in seclusion and devoted himself to the theatre, patronizing actors and musicians. After his first wife died (1759), he became so passionately enamoured of the Marquise de Montesson that he secured Louis

Boiling Point

2005-01-29T00:36:00.000-08:00

At any temperature a liquid partly vaporizes into the space above it until the pressure exerted

Alvarez, Luis W.

2005-01-28T08:03:00.000-08:00

Alvarez studied physics at the University of Chicago (B.S.,

Wahhab, Muhammad Ibn 'abd Al-

2005-01-26T19:55:00.000-08:00

Having completed his formal education in the holy city of Medina, in Arabia, 'Abd al-Wahhab lived abroad for many years. He taught for four years in Basra, Iraq, and in Baghdad he married an affluent woman whose property he inherited

Arts, Native American, Andean peoples

2005-01-25T14:16:00.000-08:00

Andean tribes, across the mountains from the Jívaro, also favour pentatonic scales, but they evolved a more sophisticated musical style during prehistory and in the period of Spanish colonization. They retain fragments of ancient ceremonial music, such as the invocation to the rain god on the Island of Taquila in Lake Titicaca—a repetitious tune for whistle and

Einstein's Massenergy Relation

2005-01-24T13:52:00.000-08:00

In physical theories prior to that of special relativity, mass and energy were viewed as distinct entities. Furthermore, the energy of a body at rest could be assigned an arbitrary

Van Doren, Carl (clinton)

2005-01-24T00:20:00.000-08:00

Educated at Columbia University (Ph.D., 1911), Van Doren taught there until 1930. In that period he was one of a group of academicians who helped to establish American literature and history as an integral part of university programs.

Glacial Landform, Permafrost, patterned ground, solifluction deposits, and pingos

2005-01-23T01:54:00.000-08:00

Permafrost is ground that remains perennially frozen (see permafrost). It covers about 20–25 percent of the Earth's land surface today. The “active layer” of soil close to the surface of permafrost regions undergoes many seasonal and daily freeze-thaw cycles. The constant change in the volume of water tends to move the coarser particles in the soil to the surface. Further

Lockheed Martin Corporation

2005-01-21T11:46:00.000-08:00

Major American diversified company with core business concentrations in aerospace products—including aircraft, space launchers, satellites, and defense systems—and other advanced-technology systems and services. About half of the company's annual sales are to the U.S. Department of Defense. Lockheed Martin is also a leading contractor for the U.S. Department

Elizabeth Ii

2005-01-21T03:59:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth was the elder daughter of Albert, duke of York, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. As the child of a younger son of King George V, the young Elizabeth had little prospect of acceding to the throne until her uncle, Edward VIII (afterward duke of Windsor), abdicated

Scandinavian Literature, The development of the Icelandic drama

2005-01-20T07:30:00.000-08:00

Icelandic drama really started to develop through Jóhann Sigurjónsson, whose first success was Fjalla-Eyvindur (1911; Eyvind of the Hills), followed by Galdra-Loftur (1915; “Loftur the Sorcerer”); both plays were based on powerful folktales. Gudmundur Kamban's Hadda-Padda (1914) was highly praised by Georg Brandes, and he remained important in Scandinavian drama for the next quarter

Zamboanga Peninsula

2005-01-18T07:01:00.000-08:00

The peninsula is drained in the north by the Lubungan, Dipolog, and Quipit rivers, and its northern highlands

Brace And Bit

2005-01-18T05:37:00.000-08:00

Hand-operated tool for boring holes in wood, consisting of a crank-shaped turning device, the brace, that grips and rotates the hole-cutting tool, the bit. The auger bit shown in the Figure is of the style traditionally used by carpenters; its six parts are shown in the Figure. At the end of the twist are two sharp points, called the spurs, that mark the circle, and two cutting

Pierced Work

2005-01-16T09:16:00.000-08:00

In metalwork, perforations created for decorative or functional effect or both; the French term for such work is ajouré. Both hand-operated and mechanical tools such as saws, drills, chisels, and punches are used. The principal present-day exponents of this ancient technique are perhaps Asiatic Indian craftsmen. In European metalwork—apart from its functional and

Stahl, Georg Ernst

2005-01-16T02:44:00.000-08:00

German physician and chemist who developed the phlogiston theory of combustion and of such related biological processes as respiration, fermentation, and decay. The theory dominated chemical thought for almost a century. He also, at times, believed in alchemy and animism.

Mordant Dye

2005-01-15T02:49:00.000-08:00

Colorant that can be bound to a material for which it otherwise has little or no affinity by the addition of a mordant, a chemical that combines with the dye and the fibre. As the principal modern mordants are dichromates and chromium complexes, mordant dye usually means chrome dye. Most mordant dyes yield different colours with different mordants. Mordant dyes can

Cohen, Albert

2005-01-14T20:45:00.000-08:00

Cohen earned an M.A. in sociology from Indiana University (1942) and a Ph.D. in sociology from

Hinduism, Sacrifice and worship

2005-01-12T13:25:00.000-08:00

Although the Vedic fire rituals were largely replaced in Puranic and modern Hinduism by image worship and other forms of devotionalism, many Hindu rites can still be traced back to Vedism. Certain royal sacrifices—such as the rajasuya, or consecration ritual, and the horse sacrifice (asvamedha)—remained popular with Hindu kings until very recently. Other large-scale

Kahn, Reuben Leon

2005-01-12T03:51:00.000-08:00

While serving with the U.S. Army (1917–19) and the Michigan State Department of Health (1920–28), Kahn found that, under carefully controlled conditions, the mixing of an infected blood sample, beef heart

Pierce, George Washington

2005-01-10T11:16:00.000-08:00

The second of three sons of a farm family, Pierce grew up on a cattle ranch and fared well enough in the modest rural schools of central Texas to graduate (1893) after three years at the University of Texas, Austin. He taught in rural

Binnya Dala

2005-01-09T21:44:00.000-08:00

In 1747 Binnya Dala succeeded Smim Htaw Buddhaketi, who had seven years earlier been set up as king of the Mon in the new capital of Pegu after their successful revolt against the Burmans. Binnya Dala, who was his predecessor's chief minister

Frauenfeld

2005-01-07T14:41:00.000-08:00

Capital (since 1803) of Thurgau kanton (“canton”), northern Switzerland, on the Murg River, close to its junction with the Thur River, northeast of Zürich. First mentioned in 1246, it was founded by the count of Kyburg and the abbot of Reichenau on land belonging to the abbot. Frauenfeld (“Field of Our Lady”) passed to the Habsburgs in 1264 and was seized by the Swiss Confederates (Eidgenossen)

Furniture, China

2005-01-06T01:43:00.000-08:00

Remarkably little systematic study has been made of Chinese furniture. Its origins remain comparatively obscure, its workshops mostly unrecorded, its designers unknown; consequently, its dating is extremely difficult. Most of the forms of Chinese furniture, such as the low table and the covered bed, are found in the oldest Chinese paintings in existence; the designs

Cytoplasm

2005-01-05T02:43:00.000-08:00

The protoplasm of a cell external to the nuclear membrane. In eukaryotes (i.e., cells having a nucleus), the cytoplasm contains all of the organelles except for the nucleus itself. Among such organelles are the mitochondria, which are the sites of energy production through ATP (adenosine triphosphate) synthesis; the endoplasmic reticulum, the site of lipid and protein

Yerkes, Robert M.

2005-01-04T10:10:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Ursinus College, Yerkes took his Ph.D. degree at Harvard University in 1902 and then served first as instructor and then as professor of psychology at Harvard until 1917. His early studies of the behaviour

G.b.e.

2005-01-03T05:48:00.000-08:00

Knight grand cross, or dame grand cross, of the British Empire, member of the highest class of a British order of knighthood. See British Empire, The Most Excellent Order of the.

Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand

2005-01-02T13:54:00.000-08:00

Gandhi was the youngest child of his father's fourth wife. His father, Karamchand Gandhi, who was the dewan (chief

Zirid Dynasty,

2005-01-02T06:26:00.000-08:00

Also called Banu Ziri Muslim dynasty of Sanhajah Berbers whose various branches ruled in Ifriqiyah (Tunisia and eastern Algeria) and Granada (972–1152). Rising to prominence in the mountains of Kabylie, Algeria, where they established their first capital, Ashir, the Zirids became allies of the Fatimids of al-Qayrawan. Their loyal support prompted the Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz, when moving to his new capital of

Chatwin, Bruce

2004-12-31T05:53:00.000-08:00

In 1966 Chatwin abandoned a promising career as a director of Impressionist art at the auction firm Sotheby's in London to study archaeology at the University of Edinburgh. From 1973 he worked for a time as a traveling correspondent for The Sunday

Silicon Carbide

2004-12-31T03:33:00.000-08:00

Exceedingly hard, synthetically produced crystalline compound of silicon and carbon. Its chemical formula is SiC. Since the late 19th century silicon carbide has been an important material for sandpapers, grinding wheels, and cutting tools. More recently, it has found application in refractory linings and heating elements for industrial furnaces, in wear-resistant

Amorphous Solid

2004-12-30T19:35:00.000-08:00

Solids and liquids are both forms of condensed matter; both are composed of atoms in close proximity to each other. But their properties are, of course, enormously different. While a solid material has both a well-defined

Jacana

2004-12-28T04:38:00.000-08:00

The seven or eight species of the genus Jacana include the American jacana (Jacana

Puerto Princesa

2004-12-27T04:39:00.000-08:00

City, east-central Palawan, Philippines. It is an important port on a sheltered inlet of the Sulu Sea, south of Honda Bay, and it has an airport. The city was formerly called Cuyo. The site of a penal colony during the Spanish regime, Puerto Princesa has become one of several resettlement sites on the island for migrants from Luzon and the western Visayan region. Copra, lumber,

Sorø

2004-12-27T02:58:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Vestsjælland amtskommune (county commune), Sjælland (Zealand), Denmark. It is the home of Sorø Academy, a well-known Danish boys' school, resembling an English public (i.e., “private”) school. The academy was founded by Frederick II in 1586 in a former Cistercian abbey (dating from the 12th century). Its alumni include many Danish kings and princes. The magnificent abbey church,

Pabst, G.w.

2004-12-26T00:30:00.000-08:00

Lee Atwell, G.W. Pabst (1977); Eric Rentschler (ed.), The Films of G.W. Pabst: An Extraterritorial Cinema (1990).

Acrocephalosyndactyly

2004-12-25T00:05:00.000-08:00

Also called Apert's Syndrome congenital malformation of the skeleton, affecting the skull, hands, and feet, first described by the French pediatrician Eugène Apert. The head is shortened front-to-back and appears pointed (acrocephaly) because of premature closing of the cranial sutures between the individual bones that make up the skull. The bones and skin of the hands and feet are fused (syndactyly),

Cheng Chih-lung

2004-12-23T19:09:00.000-08:00

As a boy, Cheng found employment with the Europeans in the Portuguese settlement at Macau, where he was baptized and given the Christian name of Nicholas Gaspard. After leaving Macau, he joined a pirate band that

Anchura

2004-12-22T10:25:00.000-08:00

Genus of extinct marine gastropods (snails) found as fossils only in marine deposits of Cretaceous age (between 144 and 66.4 million years old). It is thus a useful guide or index fossil because it is easily recognizable. The shell whorls are globular and ornamented with raised crenulations; the spire is sharply pointed; the body whorl, the final and largest whorl, has

Abu'l-wafa'

2004-12-22T01:53:00.000-08:00

Abu'l-Wafa' worked in a private observatory in Baghdad, where he made observations to determine, among other astronomical parameters, the obliquity of the ecliptic, the length of the seasons, and the latitude of the city.

Beam

2004-12-21T02:32:00.000-08:00

In engineering, originally a solid piece of timber, as a beam of a house, a plow, a loom, or a balance. In building construction, a beam is a horizontal member spanning an opening and carrying a load that may be a brick or stone wall above the opening, in which case the beam is often called a lintel (see post-and-lintel system). The load may be a floor or roof in a building, in which case

Oratorio

2004-12-19T03:13:00.000-08:00

A large-scale musical composition on a sacred or semisacred subject, for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra. An oratorio's text is usually based on scripture, and the narration necessary to move from scene to scene is supplied by recitatives sung by various voices to prepare the way for airs and choruses. A basically dramatic method is used in all successful oratorios,

Arts, Central Asian, Mongolian literature

2004-12-18T07:04:00.000-08:00

Mongolian literature begins with the Secret History of the Mongols, an Imperial chronicle dealing with the life and times of Genghis Khan and his successors, written about 1240. Üligers, orally transmitted epic stories in verse, form the bulk of native literary expression. Highly stylized, these tales relate adventures of legendary heroes and villains. In spite of their

Wildland Fire

2004-12-18T00:59:00.000-08:00

Fire danger in a wildland setting varies with weather conditions: drought, heat, and wind participate in drying out the timber or other fuel, making it easier to ignite. Once a fire is burning, drought, heat, and wind all increase its intensity. Topography also affects wildland fire, which spreads

Ash'ari, Abu Al-hasan Al-

2004-12-16T15:43:00.000-08:00

Muslim Arab theologian noted for having integrated the rationalist methodology of the speculative theologians into the framework of orthodox Islam. In his Maqalat al-Islamiyin (“Theological Opinions of the Muslims”), compiled during his early period, al-Ash'ari brought together the varied opinions of scholars on Muslim theological questions. From